The Obsessed
The Obsessed are a doom metal band originating from Potomac, Maryland. Active initially from 1978 - 1986 and then from 1990 - 1995, they are notable for being Wino's first major band and an iconic outfit in the Maryland doom metal scene and the early doom metal scene as a whole. History Warhorse and Early Career (1976 - 1986) The band formed originally under the name Warhorse in 1976 in Potomac, Maryland, led by Wino and Mark Laue. In the late 1970s they became known as The Obsessed, performing frequently in Maryland and Washington. One of their earliest performances was at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. as Wino recalled: Later on the group moved into a band house in Rockville, Maryland where a lot of their material spanning through their existence had been written. Before the intended, original guitar player John Reese departed from the band. The band became a trio and remained that way until the early eighties (i.e., 1982) when Vance Bockis and later Norman Lawson joined the band. During this time they released the Sodden Jackal EP (Spring 1983) and had one track ("Concrete Cancer") featured on Metal Blade's "Metal Massacre VI" compilation. The Obsessed also managed to record their debut album in 1985 for Metal Blade, but it was never officially released. The Obsessed disbanded initially in early 1986 when Wino joined Saint Vitus. The band's final show of their initial run was on 23 November 1985 at The University of Maryland.The Scott Wino Weinrich Church on FacebookAccessed 27 June 2017 Reformation and Dissolution (1990 - 1995) In 1990, Hellhound Records released The Obsessed, an album that The Obsessed had recorded in 1985, different from the intended Metal Blade album. This prompted Wino to leave Saint Vitus and reform The Obsessed with a new rhythm section consisting of Scott Reeder and Greg Rogers. The band was quickly signed to Hellhound Records and soon released Lunar Womb in 1991 with a sporadic handful of shows along with at least one string of European shows with this lineup. Scott Reeder later left to join Kyuss, whereupon he was replaced by Guy Pinhas. The band would tour throughout Europe in 1992 and 1993 with this newfound lineup. Columbia Records (With publishing from Hellhound) signed them for their third and final album, The Church Within. Despite receiving rave reviews, a large amount of promotion on behalf of Columbia Records (including a 25-minute documentary on the history of The Obsessed) and heavy touring throughout the USA and Europe to support The Church Within, the album did not sell as well as expected. Sometime in 1995 the Obsessed disbanded, with Wino eventually leaving Southern California and moving back to Maryland. Eventually, Wino would form Shine (Which would become Spirit Caravan) while Greg Rogers and Guy Pinhas would become the rhythm section for Goatsnake. Wino spoke of the Obsessed's second breakup in an archived interview with Hand of Doom zine: Reissues Most of The Obsessed's music became out-of-print after the band's demise and not long after the demise of Hellhound Records. In 1999, Southern Lord Records would issue the Incarnate compilation, a collection of rare and unreleased recordings spanning the band's career. In 2000, Tolotta Records would reissue the self-titled album with a bonus live show from 1984 (Though this reissue is also out-of-print). In 2006, MeteorCity would reissue Lunar Womb with liner notes and anecdotes about the album and the band at the time. In 2012 to coincide with the reunion at Roadburn Festival a host of releases were exclusive to their appearance: a double 10" reissue of The Church Within and two live albums on vinyl (Live at the Melkweg November 28 1992 and Live Music Hall Köln December 29th 1992). TKO Records would also reissue Sodden Jackyl in 2012. In 2013, nearly twenty years after the initial release, Real Gone Music would reissue The Church Within with liner notes, rare photos and two bonus tracks. In support of their 2016 reunion tour, The Obsessed self-released a reissue of Live at the Wax Museum on CD. Recorded in 1982, this live album was notably bootlegged and released by Doom Records in 1992 along with being commonly found among trading circles. Second Reunion (2012 - 2013) In September 2011, Roadburn announced that The Church Within lineup (featuring Wino, Greg Rogers and Guy Pinhas) would be reuniting to perform at Roadburn Festival on April 14, 2012. Notably at the Roadburn Festival a double 10" edition reissue of The Church Within along with a live LP featuring a bonus 7" was released to honor their appearance at the festival. Alongside the Roadburn set, The Obsessed also performed at Hellfest that year along with a short European tour. In 2013, The Obsessed would perform another string of reunion dates with Reid Raley (Rwake, Nachtmystium) taking Guy Pinhas' place. Along with a full set on May 23 in Los AngelesSetlist.fm, The Obsessed would also perform at Maryland Deathfest, Scion RockFest and Power of The Riff. Third Reunion and Sacred (2016 - Present) On 28 February 2016, Wino made an announcement that the current lineup of Spirit Caravan will now be known as The Obsessed in a statement (Though still performed Spirit Caravan songs live through the 2016 USA tour): The current lineup of The Obsessed intend to record and release a new album sometime in the near future. The first announced performance of the Wino/Sherman/Costantino lineup of The Obsessed is set to be on 24 June 2016 at The Maryland Doom Fest in Fredrick, Maryland. Eventually a full tour of the United States was announced with Karma To Burn and The Atomic Bitchwax as direct support, with the first date being on Friday the 13th at the Black Cat in Washington D.C., USA. On 24 May 2016 it was announced that The Obsessed had signed with Relapse Records to release their forthcoming fourth album.BravewordsAccessed May 24, 2016 On 31 October 2016 The Obsessed would announce a new four-piece lineup featuring Costantino, ex-Hidden Hand bassist Bruce Falkinburg and guitarist Sara Seraphim (Arsantiqva, Armageddon, Ghost Ship Octavius). It would be the first time the band would be a four-piece in 35 years.FacebookAccessed 31 October 2016 The first show with this lineup would be on November 26, 2016 at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia, PA. What would follow would be a strong of shows throughout the fall including a performance opening for Clutch on 27 December. By the end of the year, Falkinburg and Seraphim would leave The Obsessed, with the lineup only playing a handful of shows. On 7 February 2017, Relapse Records and The Obsessed announced the release date for the band's fourth album entitled Sacred which would be released on 7 April 2017. The band's first date announced for 2017 was an appearance at Berserker Fest in Michigan.Ear Split CompoundAccessed 7 February 2017 The lineup would change again with Reid Raley re-joining on bass and later announcing a tour of the United States in the Spring.The Obsessed FacebookAccessed 9 March 2017 After initially announcing three dates supporting Eyehategod it was announced on 28 August 2017 that The Obsessed would tour the US once again in the fallThe Obsessed FacebookAccessed 28 August 2017 and a tour supporting Clutch to close out the year. In November 2017 it would be announced that The Obsessed would be making appearances at DesertFest Berlin and DesertFest London in 2018, marking Wino's first appearances in Europe since 2014 and the first Obsessed performances in Europe since 2012. The band followed up with an appearance at the 2018 edition of Stoned and Dusted. Going into 2019 The Obsessed would tour through the United States in the Spring with the likes of Corrosion of Conformity and Eyehategod. Though a tour of Europe was intended it would be canceled due to unresolved conflicts with the Norwegian embassy over Wino's arrest in that country in 2014.The Obelisk The Obsessed will tour Japan for the first time in 2020 alongside Kadavar and Church of Misery. Discography Albums * The Obsessed (1990, Hellhound Records) * Lunar Womb (1991, Hellhound Records) * The Church Within (1994, Hellhound Records; Columbia Records) * Sacred (2017, Relapse Records) Live Albums * Live at the Melkweg November 28 1992 (2012, Obsessed Records) * Live Music Hall Köln December 29th 1992 (2012, Roadburn Records) Singles and Splits * Sodden Jackal (1983, Invictus Records) * Streetside (1994, Columbia Records) * To Protect and To Serve (1994, Columbia Records) * Altamont Nation(1995, Bong Load Records) * split 7" with The Mystick Crewe of Clearlight (2001, Southern Lord Records) Compilations * Incarnate (1999, Southern Lord Records) Members Current Lineup * Scott Weinrich - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals (1976 - 1986, 1990 - 1995, 2012 - 2013, 2016 - Present) * Brian Costantino - Drums, Vocals (2016 - Present) * Brian White - Bass (2019 - Present) Past Members * Johnny Reese - Guitar, Vocals (1976 - 1980) * Norman Lawson - Guitar (1980 - 1983) * Mark Laue - Bass, Vocals (1976 - 1986) * Dale Flood - Drums (1976 - 1983) * Vance Bockis - Vocals (1980 - 1983) * Ed Gulli - Drums (1983 - 1986) * Greg Rogers - Drums (1990 - 1995, 2012 - 2013) * Scott Reeder - Bass, Vocals (1990 - 1992) * Guy Pinhas - Bass, Vocals (1992 - 1995, 2012) * Dave Sherman - Bass, Vocals (2016) * Sara Seraphim - Guitar (2016) * Bruce Falkinburg - Bass (2016) * Reid Raley - Bass, Vocals (2013, 2017 - 2019) Tours * 1991 European Tour (1991) * 1992 European Tour (1992) * Rock Hard X-Mas Festival (With Cathedral, Crowbar, Trouble, Napalm Death) (1992) * The Church Within Tour (USA & Europe) (1994) * 2012 Reunion Dates (2012) * 2013 Reunion Dates (2013) * The Obsessed US Tour 2016 (With Karma To Burn and The Atomic Bitchwax) (2016) * The Obsessed US Tour 2017 (With Karma To Burn; Lo-Pan, Fatso Jetson, Weedeater and Primitive Man on select dates) (2017) * Left to Starve Summer Tour 2017 (Three dates supporting Eyehategod; With Mountain of Wizard) (2017) * The Obsessed Fall 2017 Tour (With Cobalt, Iron Tongue) (2017) * The Obsessed Winter 2017 Tour (With Clutch, The Devin Townsend Project) (2017) * The Obsessed 2018 UK Tour (2018)The Obsessed Facebook * 5,999 Miles of Bad Road (With Eyehategod) (2018) * A Quest To Believe, A Call To The Void (Select dates with Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Mothership) (2019)The Obsessed Facebook * 4 Strikes... From The Elementary To The Penitentiary (With Eyehategod, Antiseen) (2019)The Obsessed Facebook * 2019 UK Tour (With Alunah) (2019)Alunah Facebook * 2019 European Tour (2019; Canceled)The Obsessed FacebookThe Obelisk * August 2019 North American Tour (2019) * January 2020 Mini-Tour (Select dates with Mondo Generator) (2020)/ FacebookFacebook * Doom Is The Law (With Kadavar, Church of Misery) (2020) External Links *The Obsessed Official *Official Page via Wayback Archive *Early Obsessed fanpage from the 1990s *Interview with Wino *Interview with Wino discussing The Obsessed *Unreleased "Metal Blade" LP *April 1985 Basement Demos *1985 Promo Demo References Category:Band Category:Maryland Category:Doom Metal Category:Wino Category:Potomac Category:Hard Rock Category:The Obsessed Category:USA Category:Punk Rock Category:Southern Lord Records Category:Greg Rogers Category:Guy Pinhas Category:Scott Reeder Category:Mark Laue Category:Ed Gulli Category:Brian Costantino Category:Reid Raley Category:Dave Sherman Category:Hellhound Records Category:1978 Category:1976